


What Does This Mean?

by GrimLiFiendish



Series: Welcome Back to Rosewood [8]
Category: Pretty Little Liars, Pretty Little Liars Series - Sara Shepard
Genre: F/M, Jaria, PLL Fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-10 05:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12904749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrimLiFiendish/pseuds/GrimLiFiendish
Summary: Synopsis: My version of the events of the Halloween Train and Aria's thoughts and actions that night following the events. Aria can't sleep because she keeps thinking about what happened to her and the recovery of Alison's body and it's effect on Jason. Crappy description, but hopefully you'll read this. This was supposed to be put up yesterday only because it is based off the Halloween Train episode, but I forgot to post it. I did an earlier version of this the beginning is still the same but it veers off from there.Part of Welcome Back to Rosewood Collection of Unrelated one shotsBelated Happy Halloween





	What Does This Mean?

Aria couldn't sleep. What was supposed to have been a fun night had turned out to be a nightmare. She could still feel Garrett Reynolds' dead body lying against hers in the claustrophobic space of the wooden box. Every time she closed her eyes she imaged waking up in that box, her mouth duck taped shut, confused about where she was or what had happened her. The last thing she remembered clearly before waking up in the box was talking to Adam Lambert and after that everything was foggy.

She had fought to get out, but to no avail, but the tape had loosened from the moisture of her breath. Her continued struggles in the confined quarter only caused the box she had been stuffed in to fall over, a heavy weight now wedged against her body. She turned her head, but was unable to see Garrett's lifeless eyes staring at her in the gloom of the cramped space, his body already stiffening as rigor mortis had already began to set in. At first, she thought the body was a prop, but all too soon she realized the body against her was very real and very dead and she began to freak out. She felt fear, like an icy sensation running up and down her spine as she imagined dead eyes staring back at her.

She had screamed and screamed, until her throat ached and could scream no more. Hot tears trailed down her chilled skin as she renewed her struggles to get out of her makeshift prison. Her arm scraped against a sharp object, she reached with her bound hand feeling the screw sticking out, ignoring the pain from the jagged cut on her arm she lifted her bound wrist to the sharp point on the screw hoping to cut through the duct tape wrapped tightly around her wrist, tears continue to pour as she desperately began sewing through the binding, her flesh tearing as it scraped against the sharpened ridges of the piece metal. She hadn't cut through the duct tape around her wrist yet when she heard a door opening and voices speaking in hushed tones, even in the quieted voice she could tell it was a heated exchange.

At first, she tried to quieten her movements afraid it was her assailants, then quickly realized that it could be someone who would help her and even if it was whoever put her in here staying quiet wouldn't help her situation anyway. Obviously, their intent was to harm her she was after all stuck in a box with a corpse. Aria could still hear the voices arguing when she began to scream, but her throat raw and dry from earlier refused to work, her scream little more than a panicked whisper.

Aria was still trying to scream when she heard a heavy object sliding and creaking. The volume of the of the chugging from the train as it raced down the track increased dramatically and she knew that the side car had been opened and she did her best to beg them not to hurt her all to no avail as they tried to push what had become a makeshift casket for herself and Garrett off the train. She wonders what would have happened had the crate not stuck on something and if she hadn't found the screwdriver she used to stab at one of the people. The person had run out leaving the other one behind and they finally gave up trying to push the crate out the rest of the way themselves. Luckily her friends had been looking for her and thankfully they found her when they did.

As if that and Garrett's murder weren’t traumatic enough, discovering Ali's body had been there the whole time just inches from hands grabbing canned and bottled soft drinks, water and juice everyone had been grabbing all night was overkill. The look on Jason's face had almost gutted her when Toby and Noel knocked over the faux coffin and the body bag came tumbling out amid the ice and cans and bottles of beverages. Jason looked utterly defeated and it tore at her heart.

Every time Aria closed her eyes the events and Jason face repeated themselves over and over until she finally gave up on trying to sleep. She pushed back the covers and swung her legs out of the bed and sat on the side of her bed for several minutes. After everything that had happened to her tonight it was Jason's eyes that haunted her the most. Their green depth had seemed so broken and lost, if it hadn't been for Ezra holding onto her she would have ran to him. Instead she stood at Ezra's side knowing that a move toward the other man even for comfort would have started a fight with her very insecure boyfriend when it came to Jason DiLaurentis.

She wished she could say that the insecurity was unjustified, but they both knew it wasn't. Ezra knew she was attracted to Jason, being with Ezra couldn't change that. There was more than an attraction toward the other man. She had to ignore him, not just because of Ezra, but because of the part of herself that wanted to beg him to take her away from Ezra, to fight for her, show he needed her, wanted her, anything that would give the other part, the part of her that wanted to stay with Ezra, a run for its money, but he never did. Occasionally he would give her a sad look like he had this evening when he walked onto that train and seen her standing there, but he had said nothing. he had just walked past with barely a word to Spencer.

She wished that she could leave her feeling for him in the past, but she was afraid she would lose the girl she had been if she ever did that, the girl that dyed her hair pink and did the unexpected. But that Aria was repressed trying to be someone who was mature enough to be in a relationship with Ezra she sometimes forgot that girl existed and then she would see Jason and remember her and long for that Aria. That girl wanted a chance to express herself again and to be free, That Aria belonged solely to Jason, and when he was around there was a war inside of her. Jason's Aria had been repressed for so long and it was weaker than Ezra's Aria who was a ruthless bitch when she needed to be especially when it came to Ezra. But, right now, at this moment Ezra's Aria was cowering in fear from tonight events and Jason's Aria was stronger and the need to be with him and there for him gave her strength. She quickly got up and got dressed and sneaked out the way Mike had shown her and practically ran to Jason without stopping.

At first, she thought he might be in bed, but she was able to see that a light on in the kitchen and with a calming breath she raised her hand and knocked. It took a couple minutes, but Jason finally answered the door and when he did his eyes widened in surprise. Before he could even say a word, Aria had wrapped her arms around him like she had wanted to do since Alison's body feel into the floor after the altercation between Toby and Noel and she had seen his stricken face. At first, he was stiff in her arms, but finally he relaxed against her and when she felt that she moved her hands to his hair and pulled his head down until their lips met. Jason groaned against her lips, his eyes closing as he took control of the kiss.

"Aria?" he said against her lips, his voice questioning unsure of what she was thinking or doing.

In answer, Aria pushed him further into his house and closed the door behind her. She slid her hands under his shirt, but Jason stopped her, his body stiffening in pain. She looked at him with hurt, thinking he was rejecting her. "Sorry." he said, "Someone said they would help me find Alison’s body tonight. Instead I was sent on a wild goose chase and I got hurt." He said lifting his shirt and pulling back the bandages showing her the wound on his lower abdomen, about the size of the rusty screwdriver she had used on one of the people who had been trying to push the box she had been in off the train. God, A had been using Jason to kill her and get rid of Garrett and he didn't even know it.

"Jason, who was supposed to be helping you, find Alison? What were you supposed to do and how did you get hurt?"

He looked at her with curious eyes and shrugged, he didn't owe this person anything, they hadn't helped him find his sister's body. Alison had only been found because Noel and Toby had gotten into a fight. "Mona Vanderwaal contacted me and I went to see her at Ridley, she put me in contact with someone calling themselves A. She is scared shitless and trying to find out who it is. She thought somehow, she could figure out who was behind this if we were both working with A and I could get Alison's back. I was getting desperate and it sounded like a great plan at the time. I was running through empty boxcars all night looking for a package that ended up being a wooden box. I was supposed to help push it off the train. It got stuck on something and a piece of metal was sticking out and I didn't see it, I guess I leaned on it or something. I took off, I was bleeding and it sounded like there was an animal or something was in that box and I didn't want to be a part of what ever A was trying to do."

"Jason, A was trying to set you up." She didn't know if Mona was really trying to figure out who A was, if she was helping A or if she was A, but what Aria knew for sure was that Jason would never intentionally hurt her or anyone. Aria covered her face, this new A was after Jason and had apparently been around when Alison was murdered. Apparently tormenting him with that note after Alison disappeared hadn't been enough, now A wanted him to commit a real murder, he wouldn't have even known if the crate hadn't got stuck, but he would have realized it as soon as the her and Garrett's bodies were found and A would have made sure that happened to screw with his mind.

He looked at her with confused eyes, "What do you mean."

"Garrett Reynolds body was in that box and so was I, someone drugged me when I came to I was in the box and so was Garrett. The piece of metal was a screwdriver I found in the box and I stabbed you. Jason, A was using you to kill me and get rid of Garrett's body. We need to tell Spencer and the girls. Whoever this A is, they are not just after the girls and me, he or she is targeting you as well."

Jason's eyes widened in fear as he realized what he had almost done, how was Aria ever going to forgive him for this. He had almost killed her and for what, the body of his already dead sister. His body began shaking and he went down on his knees in front of her asking is she could ever forgive him. "I'm so sorry. If I would have known... If I had hurt..." Every time he would start to say something he would get choked up finally Aria cut him off telling him she already knew, she pressed as close as she could her arm tightening protectively.

Aria ran her hands through his hair bending over him protectively and telling him she already had. His reaction was exactly what A wanted, only she was supposed to have been dead so he would find out what had happened and feel guilty over her and Garrett. Jason noticed her bandages wrists for the first time and Aria felt his lips brushing against them as he continued to beg for her forgiveness. "Jason there's nothing to forgive."

Aria stood holding out her hand to him. Looking up at her he took it and stood to his feet and followed her up the steps to his room. She pulled his shirt over his head and pushed him back toward his bed, Jason reached for her, but she evaded his hands asking where the first aid supplies were. Confused he raised his torso supporting himself on his elbows telling her he had already taken care of it.

"That screwdriver was very rusty, I need to make sure it's clean. You need to get a tetanus shot, but something tells me you won't." Jason directed her to his bathroom and she came back a couple minutes later and sat on the edge of the bed and removed the bandage covering the wound. It worried her that it was still bleeding. She told him it probably needed stitches, but as she suspected he wouldn't go to the hospital telling her it wasn't that bad. Aria bent over to get a better look and she seen flakes of rust that would cause an infection. She stuffed the towels she had brought with her under him then she began cleaning the wound better, the peroxided was bubbling up taking on a reddish hue from the blood and she could see a couple flakes of rust rolling down toward his side. Jason hissed, the peroxide stinging the open wound a bit.

She grinned up at him a little, knowing the peroxide didn't hurt that bad, but she played along "kissed it better" an inch or so above the wound, Jason hissed again, but when she looked up again fearing that maybe she had hurt him somehow, she could tell by the burning depths of his eyes this time it was not caused by any pain, real or imaginary. Jason reached for her again, and once again she evaded his hands going and continued cleaning and dressing the wound. Once she finished cleaning the wound and dressing it, she cleaned everything up and took the kit back to his bathroom and dropped the linens into the hamper then went back to his room crawling on the bed beside him laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping an arm over his chest. Jason pulled her closer holding her tight.

"Aria?" Jason searched her face with a questioning gaze, "What does this mean? Do you want to be with me?" Aria sighed, at this moment she was exactly where she wanted to be, but that part of her that belonged to Ezra was no longer cowering in fear and already she was beginning to feel guilty. She shook her head, momentarily looking away trying to think of what to say, how to explain what she was feeling, the confusion she felt. Jason's hand cupped her chin turning her face back toward his. "Aria, just tell me the truth. I want to be with you, I have since I came back to town, probably even before then. Please, I need to know if there's a chance that you feel the same way about me."

Aria told him the truth as best as she could describe it. She didn't know what tomorrow would bring, but she was more honest with Jason about her feelings than she had ever been with Ezra. He somehow understood as she explained, he was disappointed, but now he was hopeful for the first time since that day Ezra had showed up at his house to get her away from him.

Jason insisted on taking her home, refusing to let her walk alone at the late hour. When he pulled up in front of Aria's home he pulled her to him his lips capturing hers. Their lips clung to each other's tongues meeting when Jason angels his head deepening the kiss. With an effort Aria drug herself away from him, eyes dazed as she stumbled out of the car, she turned back once as if to come back to him, but shook her head as if to clear he senses and turned back toward the house heading to the tree she had climbed down. Jason watched until she made it inside safely. And with a hopeful smile he drove away. Things weren't perfect there was A to deal with, he was still shaken knowing what he had almost done and Aria had not told him the exact words he wanted to her. But, he did get the unspoken message loud and clear, 'fight for me' and he would.

Somewhere in Rosewood two muffled, an angry voice could be heard. Plans had gone awry thanks to the crate getting stuck on an unseen metal stop on the train floor, a screwdriver and a pushing match between two hormonal teenage boys. Only Garrett was meant to die that night and Jason was meant to push the crate off linking him to the murder for A to use against him. Aria wasn't supposed to be inside, she was meant to be scared shitless not killed. "I told you those girls are still valuable, we can't get rid of them yet, I honestly don't care what you do to DiLaurentis he's of no use to me, but those girls and Mona Vanderwaal remain physically unharmed unless I say so." the figure in the black hoodie said the voice muffled as well as if wearing a mask. The figure in the red nods shortly pausing back long blonde curls.

Discarded on a table lays a queen of hearts mask. A figure still wearing the rest of the costume is bound and gagged a blonde head leaning against a wall barely conscious. The "A-Team" had messed up tonight almost ruining the whole game so someone had to pay. The figure in the costume recoiled when Red Coat knelt to be at eye level Alison's face staring them the face, it was a mask, but it was still creepy. "From this point on no further mistakes will be made, right." The voice was deadly calm and scared the figure huddled up against the wall more than Black Hoodie's anger ever could, and gave a weak nod, "Good."'

Red Coat and Black Hoodie walked out together leaving the one in the costume bound and gagged, they had new plans to make and the Queen of Hearts was still paying for the mess that had been made of the evening. Halloween may be over, but the A-Team still had places to be and people to terrorize. Among clustered items and diary pages stolen from Mona hung on the walls seven photographs were prominent the subjects Alison, Spencer, Emily, Hanna, Aria, Mona and a recent addition, Jason.

Fin

**Author's Note:**

> I know they said it wasn't Jason that was pushing the box off the train and the wound on his stomach was not caused by Aria. Nut this was something that I never remember them explaining, anyway I’m not thrilled with this but I am trying to work through a mental block and my mind went blank


End file.
